Chapter 6.2

Carnier couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pity for a family burdened with not just one, but multiple disasters.  

Seeing Carnier’s face grow faint, Katrina laughed triumphantly.  

“The meticulous Crown Prince wouldn’t meet just anyone before a royal wedding. And he didn’t even silence my brother after he witnessed it. He must have known this information would reach me eventually! Do you know what that means?”  

“…?”  

“It means he’s giving me free rein to do whatever I want with this knowledge! He knows how much I hate you, so he’s using me to bring you down!”  

Katrina shouted with the confidence of a villain reveling in her schemes.  

And Carnier remained silent.  

“…”  

…What kind of logic was this?  

She had heard every word, but none of it made any sense. It was so absurd that Carnier even glanced at Bartolio, hoping he might clarify. But his reaction was even more ridiculous.  

“R-right? That’s what it must mean, right? That’s why His Highness the Crown Prince didn’t hold anything against me that day, right?”  

“I’ve told you several times. Thanks to you, he got rid of a thorn in his side, so he’ll probably reward you with compensation money.”  

“Yes…! That must be it!”  

“…”  

This was hopeless.  

Caught between a paranoid delusional woman and a man in complete denial of reality, Carnier, the only sane person in the room, felt a headache coming on. Forget stalling for time—she just wanted to get out of there. Staying any longer might make her as foolish as they were.  

“But why would His Highness… the Crown Prince want to bring me down?”  

“Why else? He never wanted the marriage in the first place, and now that he has another woman, he’s trying to get rid of you!”  

“…”  

“Why, does it upset you? Did you think something that happens to others would never happen to you? You’re so naïve and arrogant. Hahaha!”  

“…”  

She wanted to escape. She felt humiliated just being kidnapped by people like this.  

Instead of waiting for her brother and fiancé, she decided she would have to free herself.  

‘I thought there might be some grand force manipulating her—like the Grand Duke or Consort Ailette…’  

But no. Even she wouldn’t have partnered with someone as foolishly cheerful as Katrina.  

Carnier lowered her head weakly. Beneath her dust-covered skirt, the satin shoes she had agonized over for three days and nights gleamed faintly.  

‘I spent so much time choosing these shoes.’  

It was a shame, but there was no helping it.  

“It’s too early to despair. Didn’t I tell you? I’m going to ruin your life.”  

Srrk. The sound of a short dagger being unsheathed reached her ears.  

Carnier glanced forward. Katrina held a sharp dagger in her hand and smiled wickedly.  

“I need to be compensated for the life you’ve ruined over and over again. Here.”  

“W-what?”  

Katrina handed the dagger to Bartolio and stepped back.  

“Hurry up. If you keep stalling, we might run into the pursuers.”  

“M-me?”  

“Do you expect me to do it? You want me, who has never lifted a finger, to stain my hands with blood? And you call yourself my brother?”

“But…”  

“Was it not enough that I listened to your whining late at night and told you how to seek the Crown Prince’s forgiveness? I even arranged for the imperial carriage to be stolen. What have you done? Aren’t you ashamed?”  

“Fine! I’ll do it!”  

Bartolio, wanting to save face despite his fear, gripped the dagger awkwardly. Though he had learned swordsmanship as a child, his lack of practice showed in his clumsy stance.  

Still, cutting the face of a bound woman wouldn’t be difficult. He swallowed hard and took a step toward Carnier.  

At the same time, Katrina retreated further. Meeting Carnier’s gaze, she silently mouthed the words:  

‘I have nothing to lose.’  

“…”  

Ah, of course. The Crown Prince wouldn’t spout such nonsense about supporting them—not in his right mind.

Everything was just a show to manipulate her delusional brother and pin the blame on him.  

“I-it’s nothing personal.”

The hesitation had been long, but once the fool made up his mind, his hands moved swiftly. There wasn’t even time for Carnier to warn him, ‘Your sister is using you as a scapegoat.’

The sharp tip of the blade sliced through the air, and Katrina’s eyes gleamed with exhilaration.  

At that very moment, the wide hem of a dress flared out in all directions. A slender leg shot upward from within.  

Thud! Bartolio staggered backward, clutching his stomach where he had been kicked.  

“Ugh!”  

Though he managed to hold onto the blade, the assault didn’t end there. In the brief moment of separation, Carnier spun around and struck Bartolio with the leg of the chair she had been tied to.  

“Gah!”  

He lost his balance entirely and toppled over. Carnier stomped on the hilt of the fallen dagger, sending it spinning into the air, where she caught it deftly with her bound hands. She smirked at Katrina, who stood frozen with a stupefied expression.  

“You should’ve tied my legs too.”  

“W-what are you doing?! Brother!”  

“Ugh… ngh…”  

Bartolio tried to get up, groaning, but Carnier had already severed her ropes with the dagger. The chair that had been hanging off her fell backward, and she rotated her now-free wrists lightly.  

‘Good, no dislocations. My shoulder’s fine too.’  

Calmly assessing her condition, Carnier lifted her skirt slightly and leapt forward. She delivered another sharp kick to Bartolio’s head just as he was starting to rise. He collapsed with a groan, and Carnier didn’t stop there. She jumped up and drove her stiletto heel into the space between his legs.  

“AAAAAHHHH!”  

Bartolio let out a blood-curdling scream as his “second life” was taken by the sharp heel. Carnier sighed.  

“These were such carefully chosen shoes…”  

Even so, she didn’t let up until he passed out entirely, foaming at the mouth. Only then did she step away and land softly on the ground.  

Dusting off her dress, Carnier looked up to see Katrina backing away. Realizing she couldn’t handle this alone, Katrina pounded on the door.  

“G-get in here! All of you, come in and deal with this woman!”  

Heavy footsteps echoed up the stairs. The door burst open, and three burly men entered the attic.  

The scarred man in front frowned.  

“What’s this, miss? We were hired for an escort job.”  

“She’s just one woman! I’ll pay you extra—just take care of her!”  

“Always with the fickle whims of nobles…”  

Even as they complained, the promise of extra payment silenced their grumbling. They drew their swords without hesitation. Judging by their crude armor and gauntlets, they appeared to be mercenaries hired with cash. It made sense; since this was a rogue operation, they couldn’t use knights tied to the Eseth family or the Grand Duke’s household.  

Carnier adjusted her grip on the small dagger without saying a word. The mercenaries exchanged amused looks.  

“Hey, bride-to-be. I don’t know what kind of grudge you’ve earned, but don’t do anything rash. You’ll just get hurt worse.”  

“Do you really think you can take us on with that thing?”  

As their employer said, she was just one woman. The mercenaries approached Carnier without much caution. They glanced at Bartolio, who was lying on the ground foaming at the mouth, but didn’t take it seriously. To them, a frail noblewoman was no different from a scrawny young lord.  

The more they underestimated her, the better it was for Carnier.  

“Come on now, don’t make this harder than it has to be…”  

The scarred man in front reached out. Carnier pushed off the ground and leapt toward him in one fluid motion.  

“Ugh!”  

Her sharply angled elbow struck his nose. Though the blow wasn’t particularly strong, it was enough to make him stagger briefly. Carnier didn’t miss the opportunity and slashed the man’s wrist with her dagger.  

“Aaagh!”  

The mercenary dropped his sword. Carnier caught it mid-fall without missing a beat. It was heavy, but manageable.  

“You little—!”  

Seeing their comrade taken down so quickly, the other mercenaries charged at her, their expressions darkening.  

Carnier spun, wielding the dagger in one hand and the longsword in the other. The sharp sound of her heels scraping against the wooden floor accompanied the graceful spread of her white dress, like petals of a flower. But the blade that emerged from beneath the hem was anything but delicate.  

The clash of steel rang out several times as blades collided and scraped against each other. Each time, the cries of pain that followed were deep and guttural.  

The mercenaries’ swords clattered to the ground. Carnier swiftly kicked them away and struck their jaws before they could retrieve their weapons. As with Bartolio earlier, she delivered precise, devastating blows to their most vulnerable areas.  

“AAARGH!”  

“Guh, ugh!”  

“Ugh…!”  

No matter how strong they were, no man could withstand such attacks. The mercenaries rolled their eyes back and collapsed one by one.  

Carnier lowered the heavy sword and looked down at her handiwork. Her dress, torn in several places from the clashes, now hung in tatters.  

“I spent so much time picking this out too…”  

“W-what…”  

Having taken down three burly men in an instant, Carnier now stood lamenting her ruined dress. The sight was so surreal that Katrina, who had been watching, was at a loss for words.  

“How… how can this be… This doesn’t make any sense…”  

“Why doesn’t it make sense?”  

Carnier drove the sword into the floor with a heavy thud. The wood splintered, and the blade sank deep. Startled by the sound, Katrina stumbled backward. Carnier smiled coldly as she looked at her.  

“You’ve been speaking so freely, you’ve forgotten which family I come from, haven’t you?”  

The Raymore Ducal Household—renowned as a family of knights.  

Generations of exceptional knights had earned them the title “Sword of the Empire.” The current Duke of Raymore was even known as the “Knight of Knights.”  

There was no way Katrina didn’t know this. She let out a shrill scream.  

“The daughters of the Raymore Ducal Household aren’t supposed to learn swordsmanship!”  

“That changed with my generation.”  

“W-what?”  

“Unlike some people, I’ve been a candidate for Crown Princess since birth.”  

Carnier’s matter-of-fact response left Katrina speechless. Carnier twirled the dagger in her hand and tilted her head.  

“Did you think you were the only one who’d try to kidnap me?”  

“…!”  

“Oh, but you’re by far the stupidest of them all.”  

Which made it all the more humiliating. The thought of the scolding she’d receive from her brother and the Duke later gave her a headache already.